As part of the Tet 2025 Book Street Festival, the audiobook companies Bookas and SBooks have launched a special initiative to address and prevent the issue of counterfeit and pirated books.

Nguyen Anh Dung, a representative of Bookas, stated that pirated books not only directly impact the revenue and reputation of publishers but also erode readers’ trust in authentic products.

The company has launched a special program to combat counterfeit and pirated books during this Tet holiday.

"The widespread presence of counterfeit books on e-commerce platforms and social media is not new. However, the alarming reality is that these fake books are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it difficult for consumers to distinguish them from the real ones.

This is a wake-up call for us to take stronger action to protect the publishing industry and the integrity of genuine knowledge," Dung emphasized.

As part of this campaign, the company introduced a new solution called the Audiobook Blind Card. Each authentic book will come with a blind card containing a QR code and a scratch-off code. By scanning the QR code and entering the scratched code into an app, users will receive a randomly assigned audiobook.

This initiative not only helps distinguish real books from counterfeit ones but also ensures that users enjoy high-quality audiobooks with full benefits.

"Every genuine book is a symbol of trust and knowledge. Through this campaign, we hope not only to protect the book industry but also to bring legitimate knowledge closer to everyone," Dung affirmed.

The organizers aim to inspire government agencies, organizations, and readers to join forces in eliminating counterfeit books, preserving the value of genuine knowledge, and fostering a transparent and high-quality book-loving community.

Bookas is also collaborating with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications to launch a special New Year’s Lucky Book Giveaway, distributing 20,000 free audiobooks to residents across the city.

As part of the event, a talk show titled "Listening to books during Tet – Connecting joy" featured three accomplished young speakers: journalist Trung Nghia, the 2023–2024 Reading Culture Ambassador; author Tam An, known for best-selling works among young readers; and writer-architect Nguyen Dinh Khoa, author of the novel Divergence, which won the Young Author Award from the Ho Chi Minh City Writers’ Association in 2024.

The speakers emphasized that audiobooks help spread the reading culture by making books more accessible, convenient, and easier to engage with.

Speakers discuss the practicality and significance of audiobooks.

To make audiobooks more appealing, topics should align with modern trends, such as technology and artificial intelligence, reflecting contemporary issues and catering to the interests of today’s readers.

"The audiobook platform has become a 'world of knowledge' that provides quick access to copyrighted books, summarizing their content in just 15 minutes.

This makes it easier for readers to select books that suit their personal preferences while also contributing to the development of a community reading culture," journalist Trung Nghia remarked.

Tuan Chieu